


Forward

by enefasparable



Category: The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Based loosely off of panels from New 52, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Iris West gets a super suit, set post 2016 mid-season finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-10 17:00:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8925016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enefasparable/pseuds/enefasparable
Summary: A great rushing reverberated through her, colored in the sound of swirling wind and a blurring world that initially made Iris nauseous. She shut her eyes against it and gripped Barry’s hand forcefully until her fingers ached. But slowly, hesitantly, she opened her eyes to the onslaught of it all; they weren’t simply running, they were practically gliding through air, as though the world stood still while they tore through space and time.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Someone on Tumblr requested fic about the [New 52 comic version of Iris West in a speed suit](http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2013/07/03/whats-new-in-the-new-52-iris-gets-a-new-suit), and my mind ran away with itself. And yall know this wouldn't be my fic without a teensy bit o'smut at the end :))). 
> 
> A ridiculously massive shoutout to chasseresse-de-la-lune for beta-ing and helping making this fic shine!

In the stillness of winter’s embrace, a sleepy Central City expanse dotted the horizon of Iris’ view — twinkling city lights, snow-capped rooftops and slickened highways, and sunlight pinkening the dawn sky; despite her watch reading 6:45 a.m., Iris felt herself rising with the world.

“Are you ready?”

Barry’s warm voice interrupted her thoughts; from the rooftop of their apartment building, everything teemed with palatable energy. As the world turned itself over into a new day, something shifted inside of Iris. She felt the potential of her abilities careen into that wild unknown — _the speed force_.

“I think so,” she said. Iris felt Barry’s gloved hands reach around her, deftly caressing the back of her neck before pulling a sturdy cowl over her head. Suddenly, the world was awash in the yellow of her suit’s protective visor. Iris glanced at her gloved hands and took a moment to adjust the leather tautly. Then her eyes found Barry’s, lips curling into an uncontainable smile. “Are you _sure_ this’ll work?”

Barry grinned softly. “Are you doubting Cisco’s handiwork? Because he doesn’t even let _me_ do that.”

Iris was on the verge of responding, but incoming static jarred her.

“What the hell was that?”

“For the record,” a voice echoed inside of her ear, “I heard that doubt. And I don’t appreciate it!”

Iris stifled a laugh. “Sorry Cisco,” she practically shouted, unsure of how well the suit picked up sound.

“Uh …. _Ow_.” Iris could tell Cisco was holding back a laugh of embarrassment on her behalf. “You don’t need to shout.”

“Right,” she whispered nervously. “Sorry. Still getting used to … all this.”

“Hey.” Barry leaned into her then, mask to mask; her face burned where his gloved fingers touched it, lit by the spark of their connection. She inhaled his scent, feeling him drag his thumb across her cheek. A click sounded in her ear and the soft static coming from Cisco’s side faded; he’d cut their connection, leaving only the two of them. “You’re doing great; you know that, right?”

Iris wasn’t sure how “great” she actually was, and her heart still staccatoed whenever she remembered the night Barry unveiled the truth surrounding her future. Savitar, the self-proclaimed “Speed God”, driving his blade through her chest; her dying form cradled in Barry’s arms, the life fading from her with every passing second.

“This is going to change everything Iris. I know it will,” Barry whispered. “Savitar can’t track you using the speed force when you’re wearing this, and even if he finds us, this gives us a fighting chance of you outrunning him.”

Iris didn’t like Barry’s unspoken words. What he _really_ meant was that she’d have a fighting chance so long as he acted as Savitar’s rag doll, so long as _he_ was the punching bag and she the damsel meant to get away.

Iris clenched her fists. “Barry, this suit doesn’t mean anything if I can’t help you.”

“Iris,” he breathed her name softly, “There’s no Flash without you. Do you hear me? _I can’t do this without you here._ ”

Before she could let go of a retort, he swallowed it with a deep kiss. It left them both breathless, bodies tangled and hearts thrumming wildly as the wind howled around them. A second later, static that registered Cisco’s presence poured back through her earpiece — Barry’d ended their moment as quickly as he’d started it, face a mask of determination, eyes a mirror reflecting the strength of their bond.

“Cisco, are our vitals live? Everything look good?” He trained his eyes on the horizon.

A memory, so strong it almost felt like a dream, emerged in her mind — Joe, curled over a young Barry clad in boxing gloves, his embrace strong and sure.

_“Now, listen — if you do come up against somebody you know you can’t beat, be smart. It’s okay to run the other way.”_

“Baby,” Joe’s voice came — not as a memory, but through her earpiece now. “Can you hear me?”

“Dad,” Iris whispered. “Dad I’m here.”

“Listen to me, Iris — I need you to promise me something, okay? I know you can do this, and I know that you’ll be smart, and safe, about everything. But if you see Savitar, if you even see a _hint_ of him, promise me you’ll run in the opposite direction?” He was giving them his best “Dad” voice, sure in its tenor, but she could sense fear lingering beneath. After all, they had no way of knowing when Savitar would show up — if he _did_ appear, then Iris would have to run as fast as that suit would let her. “Promise?”

“I promise.”

Barry signaled with two fingers; they pointed toward the edge of the building, and he extended his right hand extended for her to grab.

“Iris …” Her heart snagged on Wally’s voice, but her little brother didn’t sound scared. He sounded sure, as though caught on the edge of an excitement that only the two of them shared. “You ready to become a speedster?”

Iris grinned, her boots crunching in the snow as she went to join Barry. “You mean am I ready to wipe the floor with your mile time? Yeah, I’m ready to kick your ass.”

Wally laughed and Cisco cut into their moment. “Alright, if we’re done with the sappy send offs — Iris, remember the plan. You take Barry’s hand, let him _guide_ you through the first run so that you can get used to his velocity, and then you take over when he slows to half speed. When he does, you’ll see an indicator flash on your screen … which should come aliveee … now.”

Iris’ world lit up like a Christmas tree; augmented reality indicators listed a range of useful information superimposed over the world before her; it displayed things like the distance from their position to the roof’s edge, obstacles in the foreground, her current trajectory, and the suit’s optimal and maximum velocity.

“Got it, Cisco.” She took Barry’s gloved hand. “I’m ready, Bear.”

“Well, that only leaves one thing left unsaid.” The goofy voice that cut in was HR, and she could tell he was probably on his third latte of the morning. “Run Iris, _run._ ”

* * *

A great rushing reverberated through her, colored in the sound of swirling wind and a blurring world that initially made Iris nauseous. She shut her eyes against it and gripped Barry’s hand forcefully until her fingers ached.

But slowly, hesitantly, she opened her eyes to the onslaught of it all; they weren’t simply running, they were practically _gliding_ through air, as though the world stood still while they tore through space and time.

“Get ready to switch, Iris!” Barry shouted.

The speed indicator on her visor neared the number Cisco mentioned, and Iris knew in a moment it would be her turn to take over — to _lead_. She put her chin down, prepared to let her feet skim the snow, and eyed the digital indicator as it slowly ticked down.

“Now!”

She wasn’t sure where the voice came from, or whether it was many voices all at once; whether they were voices of everyone who loved her, or her the sound of her own inner strength.

She threw her feet down jerkily and began pumping her legs, lengthening their stride until the hazy edges of the world melded into sleek patterns of specks and light. The foreground distorted around her speed, but her heart rate remained steady around 135 beats per minute, no different than if she were warming up on a treadmill.

Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she felt Barry squeeze her hand gently, urging her onward. As the wind roughened her cheeks, a stray curl broke free of the cowl to whip madly about her face. The digital indicator pushed higher, nearing the suit’s maximum, and Iris gave an amazed shout.

She was practically  _dragging_ Barry now, as he let her towing do most of the work.

“Now _that’s_ how you put Barry through his paces!” Cisco’s shouted enthusiastically. “And the suit’s holding up to … wait for it … _perfection_.” She giggled at the sound he made, like a chef praising a particularly decadent dish. “Now get ready to decelerate; you’re coming up on the park in a hundred meters.”

Their trajectory had taken them to Central City Meadows, a scenic greenspace with wide open areas for picnics in the summers; this was where they’d agreed to stop her first training session, and she felt Barry’s gentle tug on her arm signal that reminder.

“Not yet,” she said, determined. “I want to keep going!”

“Iris!” She heard Joe’s worried voice shout in her earpiece, but it was practically lost in the wind. Barry didn’t tug her again — she knew he trusted her, was willing to let her go.

She felt his hand slip away; suddenly, he was next to her, a devilish smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“Oh, you wanna race, Flash?”

He turned, running backwards so that he could get a better look at her face. “If you think you can keep up, West.”

Iris smirked and blew past him in response.

Barry caught up with her, winked, and pushed faster, forcing a pout from Iris. No fair! She could only go so fast, and the indicator registering her heart rate showed she was approaching 170 beats per minute; her breathing came in rapid spurts as she danced over hills, past trees, and alongside frozen lakes, all the while nipping at Barry’s heels with her speed.

She felt _invincible_.

“Iris!”

Barry’s voice rang out, and sparks danced around her; it took Iris a moment to realize what was happening, but she caught the vision in her peripheral. They’d stumbled into a parking lot packed with cars left overnight from residents at nearby apartment complexes. Her footing was off; the soft snow gave way to slippery asphalt, slick with ice, and she went from running with a smooth gait to boots sliding across frozen ground; she was falling fast, her vision tipping with the descent.

“Bear!” she yelled, throwing her arms out toward his lightning that spiraled around her, bracing herself for the thud of freezing metal and the taste of blood.

There was a whooshing sound, then a sickening spin, then the hard impact of their bodies rolling across pavement. Then nothing but the still soreness of their labored breathing, Barry tucked beneath her, covered in scrapes from the worst of their tumble.

“Oh god, Bear — are you okay?”

She rose shakily, pulling him up with her, and faintly heard the distant anger that was Joe yelling about how they’d better get back to Star Labs _now_. Barry ripped his cowl off, and she thought for a moment that he was just as angry as Joe.

“I’m so sorry! I thought — I thought I had it,” she sighed. “I didn’t see -”

His mouth was on hers before she could finish the sentence, warm and probing and full of want. “That was … incredible. _You_ were incredible.”

Iris smiled, biting her lip. “You really think so?”

Her world was blur and light again, and before she knew what was happening, Barry sped them home. _Home_ , a wash of white and of their photos covering the walls, of their comfortable couch, of their kitchen table still littered with the contents of that morning’s hurried breakfast.

He pulled back her cowl gently, his bare fingers softly grazing her windswept cheeks.

“Yes.”

He thumbed gently at her lips, stirring a hungry desire just beneath the surface; when she flicked her tongue at it teasingly, he shuddered beneath her touch.

Sex in their new apartment never ceased to amaze them. Just how loudly, how languidly, how _openly_ they could have it without fear of a single person ever walking in on them. And Barry absolutely relished making Iris scream into the silence, hearing it echo and reverberate throughout their place.

“Bear,” she whispered breathily, losing herself in the feeling of his tongue against the exposed flesh of her neck. “Thank you.”

Barry nipped gently at the flesh there, delighting in her soft mewl in response. “For what?”

“For trusting me. For _believing_ in me.”

His hand found her her breast through the leather surrounding it, feeling her nipples harden beneath his fingers. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he felt himself swallow them — _marry me_ , he wanted to beg her. _Don’t go where I can’t follow_.

Instead, he peeled the suit from her skin slowly, lavishing kisses over every inch he exposed while she sighed into his embrace. He lost himself in the scent of her thighs wrapped around his face, in the feeling of her nails in his hair, in the rugged screams she let loose under his touch. Instead, he pushed that vision of her life draining in his arms further with every moment of ecstasy, drowned himself in the sensation of her body against his.

But the vision stayed at the fringes of his mind, like a haunting spectre taunting him with its possibility. And as Iris neared her release, he resolved to save her, to make her fast enough to save them _both_.


End file.
